Joe Carnahan Finishes Uncharted Screenplay

Hey Nerd Funnelers! Your resident Chloe Frazer cosplayer, here with some exciting film news: the highly anticipated Uncharted screenplay is finished! Hit the jump to read more about the upcoming film and what we can look forward to.

Fans of the Uncharted franchise will know that the film has been through production hell; facing problems such as losing its 2017 release date or fans harassing the movie studio to cast Nathan Fillion in the lead role. However, now it seems that Joe Carnahan, known for his work as a writer for the film The A Team and as a producer for The Grey, has finished the Uncharted screenplay, making the announcement on his Twitter. With the comedic yet action-packed script that The A Team brought us, the prospects for a decent Uncharted movie with a wisecracking Victor Goddamn Sullivan (I am almost certain that is his middle name) and a snarky Nathan Drake adventuring for lost treasure is starting to look promising. The film is most likely being fast tracked for production with Shawn Levy set to direct (known for Night at the Museum, Real Steel, and several episodes of Stranger Things.) And sure, while it may seem cocky for Carnahan to call his own script “monstrously cool” isn’t that the same kind of cockiness we love from our favorite treasure hunter?

Carnahan also seeks to address the biggest criticism facing the Uncharted franchise: what makes Nathan Drake different from Indiana Jones? According to Carnahan, his version of Drake is, “a thief and he’s a grifter, and he’s a scourge. He and Sully are not good guys but they’re better than the bad guys…” In contrast, Indiana Jones is an ass-kicking preservationist looking to put everything in its right place – the museum. While both characters are in the same line of work and share lives fraught with adventure, their sensibilities are incredibly different.

Additionally, Carnahan hopes to put an original spin on his own interpretation of Nathan Drake. In an interview with Collider, Carnahan states that he feels the “fanboy element” of films can derail a production from taking risks and being creative: “You’re gonna have Nate do this and you’re gonna say Kitty got wet and gonna do this, and you say, ‘Listen, we’re gonna do as much of it as we can,’…It’s just making a great movie and trying to put as much of the game in as you can and the sensibilities of making Drake and Sullivan and so on, and beyond that, just do something original and fun. Roll the dice, like we have to do on anything.”

Only time will tell if the Uncharted movie will be a success or loyal to the source material. But let’s all remember that greatness can come from small beginnings. Let’s also hope for significant screen time for Chloe, as well.